The Ghost Hunters of Grimestone

A Haunting Concept

The shop assistant is a chirpy young blonde, with exuberant curls that bounce up and down on her petite shoulders every time she moves. She regards us with a big grin, almost comically pinned to her unusually small face, made up to add accent to her sharp, pointed features. She's pretty, in a sort of unconventional way.

"Lauren!" she sings as she skips over, a sparkle in her bright brown eyes. She engulfs my best friend in a massive hug like she's a long lost daughter who hasn't been seen in years. Lauren introduces me to her excitable Aunt Kitty who extends out a friendly hand to me. I fail to meet her enthusiasm as I hesitantly offer my own hand, which she all but destroys as she shakes my arm up and down in an excited greeting. Finally, she releases my captive hand and says, "Lovely to meet you, Jenny. I hear you and Lauren go way back, right?" I nod, repeatedly clenching and unclenching my hand, just to make sure it's still intact.

I find it difficult to keep my eyes from wandering around the expansive warehouse, the sheer volume of polyester and tulle sending a shiver of pure fear shuddering down the length of my back.

"Come follow me," instructs the still grinning Kitty. How anyone can smile like that and speak at the same time is beyond me. "Our Halloween costume stocks are running a little low at the moment, as you can well imagine, but there should still be plenty of stuff for you to have a good look at." She leads us through the jungle of dresses, jackets and robes to what she claims is the quickly diminishing Halloween stock.

Running low? Is she kidding me? There are enough costumes here to fancy dress a whole army! And load their cannons with meringue petticoats and 3D pumpkins! I swear I have just stepped into my worst nightmare. I cannot believe I let Lauren drag me here. Honestly, I let my guard down for one measly second, she goes, "Oh, hey, I was just planning on doing a bit of shopping at the mall. You wanna come with?" and I think, yeah, why not, some girly bonding time away from Big Bro! And then – gah! – she drags me to a place where it looks as though some purple spotted dragon has chewed up the Brothers Grimm and spat them back out again in colourful disarray. I think I've just died and gone to hell

"Hey, cheer up!" Lauren nudges me in the side. "This could be fun! It's really not half as bad as you make it out to be!" I raise her a you-wanna-bet eyebrow, but she sighs and drops her head, peering at me from under her curtain of perfectly straight, blonde hair, switching straight on to Mum-Mode. "Jenny, please. We never get to have any real bonding time any more. I'm trying to help us both out."

After watching her a few moments more, I decide the she probably does have a point. We've known each other for a long time now, and though we see each other every day, I feel that we just don't really talk as much as we once used to. Perhaps I should try and enjoy myself today. If just for her.

The frighteningly lively Kitty has now pranced off to...wherever it is she goes. The Land of Candy Canes and Marshmallows? The leprechaun's house at the end of the rainbow? Goodness knows. Anyway, that leaves Lauren and me to browse through the jumble alone, with her actually genuinely looking for something to wear to the dance, and me trying to search for the most hideous garment I can lay my eyes on. Lauren gets a little frustrated with me when I pull out a costume comprised completely of bandages, with a few gaps between the strips with what was meant to look like guts spewing out, and with a matching balaclava which showed only parts of the face. Again, that's painted with bloodied innards.